This is the part of MM&M where, normally, you would expect to read about the continued decline of medical publishing because of further evaporation of professional advertising

expenditures. Not this time.Almost everywhere you look, the news is good, or, at the very least,

better. Overall the total healthcare market (including pharmacy, nurse practioners/physician assistants, managed care, etc) grew by 7.2% to $332.5 million for the first half of 2010. Medi-cal/surgical spending was up 14.3% to $179.6 million, while pharmaceutical spending rose by 13.7% to $184.5 million between January and June. Meanwhile, the Top 100 most advertised pharmaceuticals increased expenditures by a whopping 69.4% to $119.4 million.

Before publishing execs begin launching new print titles and taking lavish lunches, it’s worth bearing in mind that revenues are still around 20% short of 2008 levels. Nevertheless, it’s been a long time since there has been any good news at all, so the upturn is welcome.

Multi-specialty titles, somewhat surprisingly, led the rebound with 29% year-on-year growth, representing $13.5 million more in the market. Internal medicine, pediatrics, rheumatology and oncology rounded out the top five performing markets in terms of dollar growth

52 MM&M x OCTOBER 2010 x mmm-online.com

1New England Journal of Medicine — ad pages up 42% vs. first-half 2009

2Journal of

the American Medical

Association —ad pages

up 54% vs. first-half

2009

4Monthly

Prescribing Reference

— ad pages up 29%

vs. first-half 2009

3American Family Physician — ad pages up 46% vs. first-half 2009

TOP 5 MEDICAL/SURGICAL JOURNALS RANKED BY AD REVENUE, JAN-JUNE 2010

JOURNAL AD REVIEW 2010 MID-YEAR

Something good’s going on. Professional journaladvertising has rebounded in spectacular fashion in the first-half 2010. James Chase reports on the biggest advertisers and most advertised brands

ON ThE

UPFamily Practice News— ad pages up 22% vs. first-half 20095

mmm-online.com x OCTOBER 2010 x MM&M 53

over 2009. Of the 38 markets tracked by Kantar Media, 23 showed growth, with nursing—and its dwindling print recruitment advertising base—having the biggest negative impact on ad dollars.

PublishersAt the individual publication level, the market leaders had an extraordinary first six months of the year, recording both revenue and page-count hikes of anything from 20% to 50%. For instance, number one title, The New England Journal of Medicine, posted almost 500 additional pages in the first half of the year (up 42%), while number two, the Journal of the American Medical Association, did even better with a 54.4% explosion in ad pages.

Meanwhile, American Family Physician bulked up by 45.6%, Monthly Prescribing Reference went up 28.8% and Family Practice News saw an increase of 22%.

So what’s been going on this year to cause such a reversal of fortunes? Alan Imhoff, president of IMNG Elsevier, the largest medical publisher in terms of ad revenues, thinks there are a num-ber of factors at play. “There is still uncertainty about how pharma can use the web to promote [brands], particularly when it comes to

things like search, so I think that some monies that might have been originally earmarked for digital promotion went to print instead,” says Imhoff, whose company enjoyed a 7.2% gain in ad pages for the first six months of the year.

“Related to that, there isn’t a lot of inventory on the digital side, and most of it is sold. Additionally, there have been some significant

TOP 25 ADVERTISED COMPANIES, JAN-JUNE 2010 Rank Rank $ ad spending in thousands % change 2010 2009 Company 2010 2009 2008 2010 vs 2009 2009 vs 2008

1 1 Pfizer 21,364 14,574 24,096 46.6 -39.5

2 2 Forest Pharmaceuticals 20,829 13,170 18,970 58.2 -30.6

3 7 Novartis 8,893 4,972 7,379 78.9 -32.6

4 5 Eli Lilly & Co. 8,040 5,877 15,664 36.8 -62.5

5 3 Johnson & Johnson 7,665 6,803 13,844 12.7 -50.9

6 10 Merck & Co. 6,369 4,491 9,290 41.8 -51.7

7 8 Roche 5,778 4,749 3,971 21.7 19.6

8 6 Novo Nordisk 5,483 5,448 4,581 0.6 18.9

9 18 Sanofi-Aventis 5,337 2,082 3,374 156.3 -38.3

10 16 GlaxoSmithKline 4,078 2,159 1,603 88.9 34.7

11 12 Bayer 3,222 2,936 3,459 9.8 -15.1

12 23 Amgen, Inc. 3,056 1,835 1,309 66.5 40.2

13 9 Takeda 2,877 4,708 7,313 -38.9 -35.6

14 25 King Pharmaceuticals 2,699 1,773 2,949 52.2 -39.9

15 20 Alcon Laboratories 2,631 2,042 4,131 28.8 -50.6

16 169 Otsuka America Pharmaceuticals 2,470 56 0 4,320.0 NA

17 30 Allergan 2,153 1,428 2,834 50.7 -49.6

18 11 Shire US 2,122 3,181 4,214 -33.3 -24.5

19 17 Endo Pharma 2,045 2,134 2,069 -4.2 3.1

20 27 Amylin/Lilly 2,035 1,693 2,109 20.2 -19.7

21 26 Genentech/Biogen Idec 1,999 1,708 2,269 17.1 -24.7

22 19 Gilead Healthcare 1,938 2,074 812 -6.6 155.4

23 29 Bausch Lomb 1,862 1,580 961 17.9 64.3

24 49 Boehringer Ingelheim 1,825 714 2,834 155.6 -74.8

25 13 AstraZeneca 1,705 2,744 7,041 -37.9 -61

Copyright 2010 Kantar Media. All rights reserved. Report and report data may not be reproduced or distributed outside of License company without the written permission of Kantar Media. See Market Opportunity Reporter(R) Terms of Use for detailed information. Source: Kantar Media, Journal Ad Review(TM) Data

MOST ADVERTISED COMPANy

Pfizer, the longtime top adver-tised company, held onto the top spot with a 47% increase in overall ad spend (even with a 24% decrease in spend for blockbuster Lipitor as it ap-proaches the patent cliff) for the first-half 2010. Forest Pharma-ceuticals held its second posi-tion on top of 58% increases in spend, just falling short of the lead position. Novartis climbed from the seventh position in its continued ascent to the number one position, on top of 79% increase in ad dollars, most on Tasigna. Lilly inched up to number four with 37% more ad dollars spent in the first half

Journal ad revenue, first half 2006-2010

Source: Kantar Media

050

100150200250300350400

All Health Care Medical/Surgical2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

450500

$448M

$269M

$441M

$257M

$403M

$227M

$297M

$157M

$322M

$179M

54 MM&M x OCTOBER 2010 x mmm-online.com

TOP 25 ADVERTISED BRANDS, JAN-JUNE 2010 Rank Rank $ ad spending in thousands % change 2010 2009 Product Company 2010 2009 2008 2010 vs 2009 2009 vs 2008 1 32 Savella Forest Laboratories 8,281 1,008 0 721.4 NA

2 1 Lexapro Forest Laboratories 6,549 5,505 4,410 19 24.8

3 2 Bystolic Forest Laboratories 3,504 4,075 11,314 -14 -64.0

4 0 Lyrica Pfizer 3,321 0 3,735 NA -100.0

5 84 Humalog Kwikpen Eli Lilly & Co. 3,081 457 674 573.9 -32.1

6 177 Lantus - non-branded Sanofi-Aventis 2,979 214 27 1,289.80 696.9

7 3 Pristiq Wyeth 2,941 3,481 943 -15.5 269.0

8 4 Lipitor Pfizer 2,576 3,368 4,523 -23.5 -25.5

9 6 Namenda Forest Laboratories 2,495 2,582 2,579 -3.4 0.1

10 0 Chantix Pfizer 2,471 0 26 NA -100.0

11 0 Samsca Otsuka 2,289 0 0 NA NA

12 0 Saphris Schering-Plough 2,271 0 0 NA NA

13 7 Levemir injection Novo Nordisk 2,065 2,387 2,772 -13.5 -13.9

14 0 Embeda King Pharmaceuticals 2,059 0 0 NA NA

15 9 Byetta Amylin/Lilly 2,035 1,693 2,109 20.2 -19.7

16 8 Rituxan Genentech/Biogen Idec 1,957 1,708 2,264 14.6 -24.6

17 172 Simponi Golimumab Centocor Ortho Biotech 1,934 221 0 776.9 NA

18 88 Tasigna Novartis 1,690 441 174 283.1 153.6

19 0 Onglyza BMS/AstraZeneca 1,625 0 0 NA NA

20 10 Avastin Genentech BioOncology 1,610 1,619 1,140 -0.6 42.1

21 42 Zyvox Pfizer 1,569 860 1,002 82.3 -14.1

22 115 Afinitor Novartis 1,539 357 0 330.6 NA

23 12 Januvia Merck & Co. 1,532 1,489 1,417 2.9 5.0

24 159 Sutent Pfizer 1,498 243 982 516.5 -75.3

25 0 Victoza injection Novo Nordisk 1,489 0 0 NA NA

Copyright 2010 Kantar Media. All rights reserved. Report and report data may not be reproduced or distributed outside of License company without the written permission of Kantar Media. See Market Opportunity Reporter(R) Terms of Use for detailed information. Source: Kantar Media, Journal Ad Review(TM) Data

new products this year, and going against most of the predictions they have been primary care products as well as specialty products, and we have some good old fashioned competition in some categories.”

Other notable gainers were the McMahon Group (up 30% in ad pages), Quadrant HealthCom (up 12%), Jobson Medical Group (up 10%) and Slack Incorporated (up 6% in pages).

Pharma companiesPfizer (including its subsidiary companies) is—just by a whisker— the top professional advertiser in the first half of 2010, almost back at 2008 levels with $21.4 million, representing a 47% increase over the previous year. Forest Pharmaceuticals is right on Pfizer’s heels, with 58% growth to $20.8 million. Next is Novartis, which jumped up from 7th to 3rd on the back of a massive 79% increased in ad outlays.

The biggest increase in the top 10 was by Sanofi-Aventis which spent 156.3% more than in the first six months of 2009. While the top two, Pfizer and Forest, together make up more than 20% of pharma professional spend, collectively the top 10 biggest spenders account for one-half of pharma outlays, having bumped up spending by 45.9% this year.

ProductsThe top 25 products accounted for just under 20% of all ad spend in the market, with $65.4 million in ad spend. It’s quite remarkable that Forest owns the three most-advertised brands—Savella, Lexapro and Bystolic—plus the number nine brand to boot (Namenda) and yet, as we’ve already discussed, Pfizer is the (slightly) bigger advertiser

MOST ADVERTISED BRANDS

Forest held onto the top three spots with 2009’s #32 fibromyalgia prod-uct, Savella (and 721% increase in spend), snagging the coveted lead. Pfizer’s Lyrica, also a fibromyalgia drug and new product, took the fourth position with $3.3 million in ad spend. Humalog and Lantus (un-branded) increased spend by 574% and 1,290%, respectively to hold down the fifth and sixth spots

mmm-online.com x OCTOBER 2010 x MM&M 55

JOURNAL AD REVIEW

TOP 25 ADVERTISED CATEGORIES, JAN-JUNE 2010 Rank Rank $ ad spending in thousands % change 2010 2009 Category 2010 2009 2008 2010 vs 2009 2009 vs 2008

1 4 Diabetes Insulin 13,925 9,028 8,333 54.2 8.3

2 1 Cytostatic 13,164 12,692 14,352 3.7 -11.6

3 3 Ethical Drugs Misc. 12,525 9,485 11,477 32.0 -17.4

4 2 SSRI/SNRI 10,755 11,098 17,320 -3.1 -35.9

5 5 Cancer Therapy 9,933 7,609 7,837 30.5 -2.9

6 38 Antidepressants 8,281 1,064 52 678.3 1,947.10

7 13 Antipsychotics-Other 5,719 2,599 11,461 120.0 -77.3

8 21 Seizure Disorders 5,518 1,545 4,740 257.1 -67.4

9 9 Beta-Blocking Agents 4,118 4,165 11,423 -1.1 -63.5

10 7 Alzheimer-type Dementia 3,749 4,637 5,913 -19.2 -21.6

11 11 Non-Specific Promo Advert 3,749 3,026 3,294 23.9 -8.2

12 31 Transplant/Immunosuppressives 3,419 1,196 1,039 185.7 15.2

13 6 Chol Red Rx Statins 3,187 6,077 7,510 -47.6 -19.1

14 10 Proton Pump Inhibitors 2,934 3,028 2,210 -3.1 37

15 0 Smoking Deterrents Rx 2,471 0 113 NA -100

16 12 Dermatologica-Other 2,324 2,841 4,568 -18.2 -37.8

17 133 Analgesics-Narcotic 2,059 130 3 1,487.90 4,925.00

18 110 Antiarthritics Systemic Dmards 1,934 221 0 776.9 NA

19 26 Hemat. Iron Alone 1,917 1,382 640 38.7 115.9

20 23 Ext Spec Macrolide 1,868 1,507 3,269 23.9 -53.9

21 14 Morphine & Opium Non-Inject 1,804 2,244 3,257 -19.6 -31.1

22 28 Estrogens Oral 1,784 1,281 1,383 39.3 -7.4

23 197 Diabetes Therapy 1,686 16 3 10,504.1 416.3

24 18 Diabetes Oral 1,590 1,883 1,576 -15.6 19.5

25 22 Anesth-Other Local & Top 1,524 1,499 364 1.7 312.2

Copyright 2010 Kantar Media. All rights reserved. Report and report data may not be reproduced or distributed outside of License company without the written permission of Kantar Media. See Market Opportunity Reporter(R) Terms of Use for detailed information. Source: Kantar Media, Journal Ad Review(TM) Data

MOST ADVERTISED CATEGORy

Diabetes Insulin rose from the number four spot to become the top advertised category (for the first time), with much of the credit due to a 574% increase in spend on Eli Lilly’s Humalog. SSRI/SNRI has long dominated the category but fell in first-half 2009 to the number two spot and fell again in 2010 to the fourth position. Cytostatic (last year’s top advertised category) increased spend over the year-ago period to claim the second spot. Ehitcal Drugs Misc. held steady at the number three posi-tion, despite a 32% increase in ad spend. Cancer Therapy held onto the number five spot

with a greater depth to its portfolio.Interestingly, eight of the top 25 brands had no advertising in first

half of 2008, and seven did not advertise the first six months of 2009. Hence, this group added $15.5 million in new advertiser ad spend.

New products (or at least new indications/new messaging) continue to help drive the market. Only one of last year’s top 10, Abbott’s Trilipix, dropped out of the top 25 (to 85th); two of 2008’s top 10 also left the top 25 (Lilly’s Cymbalta, and Janssen’s Invega). The futureKantar Media has recently launched an online tracking service and, according to Dave Emery, VP media sales and client service, professional health, an early glance at the data shows Lilly’s Cym-balta is the most widely advertised brand on professional health sites this year.

“There doesn’t appear to be a ton of overlap between the top print advertisers and those that seem to be spending online,” he says of the initial numbers.

Emery says he is not surprised by the reversal of fortunes in medi-cal publishing. “Our research documents that medical journals in

print and online continue to offer pharma marketers an unbeatable combination of reach, frequency of exposure and importance as an information source among the physicians they’re trying to communi-cate with,” he says. “Doctors read their professional publications as frequently and thoroughly today as in the past; they’re supplementing them, not replacing them, with a growing range of other information options. So it’s no surprise that—even in the increasingly complex, multimedia environment that everyone in healthcare is operating within these days—that leading brands and leading companies are increasing their investment in a proven promotional tactic like journal advertising. It’s cost-effective, and it works.”

IMNG Elsevier’s Imhoff believes print still has a lot to offer, too. “Let’s face it, advertising works,” he says. “All the data indicates doctors still read and get most of their information from publica-tions, and it’s hard to launch a product without print.” And “the pages keep coming,” according to Imhoff. “I think the second half might be stronger than the first. It will be interesting to see how things pan out in 2011. There may yet be clarification on the digital dos and don’ts, but I think we’ll see a relatively strong market next year as well.” n